by B. J. Smash
The Witch and the Bottle of Djinn
By: B. J. Smash
© 2014 B.J. Smash
All Rights Reserved
Cover Design by Melody Simmons of ebookindiecovers.com
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the copyright owner, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Dedication
"Let us raise our glasses and toast to our dear friends, the elven." ~ Ian McCallister
List of Characters
Aggie—Izadora, Izaill, Magella and Edmund’s mother.
- Great sorceress.
Harikin—Izadora, Izaill, Magella, Edmund’s father.
- High-ranking Unseelie Fae.
Izadora—She is bound to the air; she can never touch the ground or she will turn to dust.
- She is the sister of Izaill, Magella and Edmund Seaforth.
Izaill—He is bound to the earth; he can never touch the ocean; nor can his feet leave the earth.
- He is the brother of Magella, Izadora, and Edmund Seaforth.
Magella— She is bound to the water; she cannot leave the presence of water.
- She is the sister to Izadora, Izaill and Edmund Seaforth.
GG Edmund Seaforth aka Montague—He has the gift of fire.
- Ivy’s great-great Grandfather.
Granddad aka John Basil Sr.—Edmund Seaforth’s son.
- Father of John Basil Jr., Cora, and Clover Seaforth.
- Ivy’s grandfather.
Father aka John Basil Jr.—Ivy’s father; Zinnia’s father.
- Brother to Cora and Clover Seaforth.
Gran aka Eilish Seaforth—Ivy’s grandmother.
- Mother of John Basil Jr., Cora, and Clover Seaforth.
Cora Seaforth—Ivy’s aunt.
- Co-owner of Cora and Clover’s Café.
- Minimus’ fiancé.
Clover Seaforth—Ivy’s aunt.
- Co-owner of Cora and Clover’s Café.
Ivy Seaforth—granddaughter of John Basil Sr.
- Daughter of John Basil Jr., and Princess Anah-Lilli.
Zinnia—Ivy’s sister.
Anah-Lilli—daughter of King Alinir.
Ella—Elecampane Seaforth.
- Ivy’s cousin.
Uncle Royal—son of GG Edmund.
- Ella’s father.
King Alinir—King of the Elven.
Drumm—Izadora’s apprentice.
- Ivy’s boyfriend and guardian.
- An elven warrior.
Ian McCallister—Neighbor to the Seaforth’s.
- Ivy’s boss.
- Shape shifting hellhound.
Lucian McCallister—Ian’s nephew.
- Ivy’s friend.
- Shape shifting hellhound.
Maximus—the caretaker and great wizard of Hy Brasil.
Minimus—Maximus’ sidekick and brother.
- Cora’s fiancé.
Kepler—Maximus’ pet pig on Hy Brasil.
Ladriant—A Dark Elf; racing for the bottle of djinn.
Tom—William’s cousin; racing for the bottle of djinn.
William—Tom’s cousin; racing for the bottle of djinn.
Snake Man—Carmen from Brentwood; racing for the bottle of djinn.
Ish McTish—Izadora’s enemy.
Egbert Winemaker—Pixie catcher.
Oona and Tullia—Pixies.
Whip Man—evil horse whipping guy; racing for the bottle of djinn.
Queen—bound to the disappearing town of Helsberg.
Darvon—High-ranking Unseelie Fae aka The Regal Folk.
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty One
Chapter Twenty Two
Chapter Twenty Three
Chapter Twenty Four
Chapter Twenty Five
Chapter Twenty Six
Hy Brasil
Chapter One
I’d like to say that everyone in Merribay had an uneventful year, but I’d be lying. Shortly after Zinnia married Eadgar, my Aunt Clover broke her foot in three different places. Now, you’d think that if anyone could heal her foot, it would be me or Drumm. We were what some would consider “expert healers.” Drumm more so than me of course, but it could not be done. The foot would not heal.
Even Izadora couldn’t help her. She could ease the pain a bit with her potions, but she could not heal the broken bones. This stumped all of us and there could only be one conclusion.
“Someone has set a curse upon you,” Izadora said, trying to tame her wild white hair with her left hand. She wore a tattered purple apron over her simple white shift dress this morning.
“A curse? Are you serious?” Aunt Clover responded. Her face was all puckered up and it was evident that she was in a substantial amount of pain. She ran her fingers through her short blond hair and slouched forward.
“Who would do that? Did you make someone mad?” Gran asked.
We were sitting at a picnic table behind Gran’s house drinking tea out of her pricey new tea set. She was obsessed with purchasing tea pots and tea sets, and the theme she’d bought this week had purple dragonflies painted on the cups and saucers. Izadora sat perched up in a big oak on a branch that swooped out to the side and landed on the earth. She hardly looked comfortable with her butt hanging over the branch, but she didn’t complain. After all, it was a beautiful spring day and summer was right around the corner. Gran had laced the back yard with bird seed, and the birds were continuously chattering and fluttering about the trees. The lilacs were in full bloom and their cloying scent wafted in the air.
“I don’t know,” Aunt Clover whined. “But I am not able to stand on it at the café. I will have to shut the place down while we figure this out. I’ll have to use up all of my savings.” She leaned her face into the palm of her hand and moaned.
“We can’t shut the café down; people depend on us. We are the most sought-out café in three or four towns.” Gran eyeballed me. She probably thought I had an answer for her, but I didn’t. However, Izadora did. “Call Cora. She’ll come. And Ivy, you can stick around for a while before you head back to Hy Brasil.”
I hated to sound rude to anyone, especially my family, but I had to voice my opinion. “I’d love to stay, but you all know that Maximus is expecting me and Drumm in Hy Brasil in a couple of days…”
“Hy Brasil can wait,” Izadora stated firmly.
My patience left me at that point. I had been waiting—even crossing the days off from the calendar—to go to Hy Brasil. “Izadora! I have to go. You can’t tell me that a café
is more important than Hy Brasil.” After I said it – I wished that I could have taken it back. But as the words floated out of my mouth, and into Aunt Clover’s ears—her face fell.
“I didn’t mean…Well, you know I didn’t mean to say that the café isn’t important. It’s just…” I fumbled for the right words.
“No. I understand. You don’t have to stay,” Aunt Clover mumbled.
“She does. And she will,” Izadora said. “One thing you must learn, Ivy, is patience. Besides, Maximus isn’t expecting you just yet. We talked last night.”
This didn’t surprise me at all, as I was usually the last person to learn about things. Still, my heart sank. I had been looking forward to my trip.
“I’ve seen a thing or two in my blue bottle. When I doubted what I saw, I pulled out my bowl and stones. All the signs point to you staying here for another week,” Izadora said. I could picture Izadora raising her singing bowl up from the floor with the swing of her hand. As it floated in mid-air, she would have cast her stones into the misty cloud that always formed. The stones would arrange themselves and she would read their positions, and gather information about the future. I still didn’t know how she did this, and probably never would.
I didn’t let anyone see my disappointment and forced a blank look on my face. I did this because Izadora had been training me to not show any emotion – even when I felt like a grizzly bear who’d been sprayed in the eyes with a can of pepper spray.
“Besides…family must come first,” Gran added.
With that comment, I could feel my lips frown at the edges. I didn’t dare answer for fear of sounding like a fool. I just nodded my head. It was no matter that the members of Hy Brasil had discovered something awesome. They’d been working on it for a year! I still didn’t know exactly what it was they were working on, but it didn’t matter. They wanted me over there soon. But if Maximus had agreed to my staying here for the time being, then how could I argue?
“Tell me. One last time. How did you fall again?” As Izadora asked this, a swift breeze swept by causing me to shiver, and blew our paper napkins from the table. She sat unalarmed as if it hadn’t happened. She rubbed her chin, and focused her eyes on Aunt Clover.
“Well, let’s see. I was walking my new dog, Posie. She’s picky you know, so we can only go on certain routes.”
Gran snickered. She got a kick out of Aunt Cora’s new dog. The dog seemed to have an air about her, as if she were a royal princess. Perhaps in her dog world, her family had been of royalty. She was a King Cavalier and Cocker Spaniel mix. The official name would be – Cockalier. Gran busied her hands and poured some more tea in her cup as she stifled a laugh.
“I’ll take a tad more.” Izadora held out her dainty tea cup. In comparison to her large hand, the small cup reminded me of a tea set that Zinnia had once owned as a child. Gran stood to bring her the tea, but I intercepted and gently took the tea pot from her, stepping up to Izadora to pour it. While Aunt Clover continued the story, I sat back down.
“As I was saying…from the café she likes to go straight down the street and take a right. From there she likes to walk a good three fourths of a mile toward this house. But at a certain area, she always wants to take a right and head into the woods. We had never ventured in of course. I had always turned around and gone back to the café.”
“You don’t say,” Izadora mumbled so low that I seemed to be the only one to notice.
“I have a heck of a time getting her to turn back, but after a minute or two, she listens to me. Anyway, it was on this last walk that we had reached that point. She pulled on the leash a little too hard and it flew right out of my hand. She took off into the woods and I had to chase after her. She just wouldn’t listen. At this point, I reached into my dapper bag for some treats…”
“You were going to reward the dog for taking off?” Gran asked shaking her head. “And what exactly, is a ‘dapper bag’?”
“Well, I had to get her to come back somehow but it didn’t work. Oh – and a dapper bag is just my term for a diaper bag. Anyway, mother, can I finish my story?” Aunt Clover said with an edge.
“Go on,” Gran snickered.
“I walked through a ditch and then through the tree line into a clearing in the woods. The little field was filled with beautiful spring flowers of every color. Pinks, white, yellows – it was gorgeous. I almost pulled out my cellphone to snap a shot but I didn’t want to lose the dog. So, I was shaking the treat bag and out of nowhere, an oversized white deer ran out of the woods. He was quite big and had bright blue eyes and large antlers. Well, I think he wanted a treat or something! I don’t know for sure, but he ran straight towards me.” She paused to gauge our reactions. The first time she told us this story, Gran asked her if she’d been into the booze.
“So, I remember screaming so loud that my voice made my ears ring. The deer came at me, with his big white antlers aiming right for me. I threw the bag of treats at him and stepped back. I must have landed my foot in a hole because I lost my balance and fell on my backside, right into a prickle-bush, and I’ll have you know – that is never fun.” Aunt Clover’s hand went back to briefly rub her tush. “And then, the white deer came right up, sniffed the bag of treats on the ground, snorted and was on his way. At that point, I realized my foot and ankle were in raging pain.”
Her gaze flew to the fracture boot she wore. “I passed out. I don’t know why because it’s not like I’m wimpy. I can handle some pain. Anyway, I awoke to Drumm calling my name while he fanned me with a large leaf. He said he had heard my screams from quite a distance away. Shortly after that, Ivy arrived. They both tried to heal me, using a… um…trees energy. But it didn’t work.”
We all sat in silence for a few moments, pondering this weird story. Finally, Izadora said, “When did the dog return?”
“Oh – Drumm had to run off to find her. He said he found her in Hunter’s Hollow sniffing around an old fence.”
Hunter’s Hollow was Izadora’s creation. Normally, one would be able to walk from my Gran’s house and through the woods to Izadora’s within ten or fifteen minutes. But people used to wander in and bother Izadora and so she had to take measures into her own hands. She cast a spell over that area of the woods, causing it to be a ten mile gap. This gap was filled with all sorts of mysterious things, like swamps and bogs, a pond with violet colored water, waterfalls, underground passageways, caves, and dead ends. One had to know their way around in order to make their way through. When people had discovered what she’d done, they didn’t dare venture in for fear that they’d never make it out. There was actually a rumor that Mr. Mills nephew, Billy Wompkin, had ventured in and when he returned home two weeks later – he wasn’t right in the head (as Gran had put it), and he has never spoken a single word since. He now spends his time sitting on the stoop of Mr. Mills’s hardware store, whittling wood.
Aunt Clover knew her way around in Hunter’s Hollow and so did my sister, Zinnia. Drumm knew the area the best and had tried to teach me the paths, but I didn’t like it in there. There were dark and creepy areas filled with jumping spiders. That might not sound terrible, but it is when they are the size of your hand. And then there was the feeling of someone constantly watching me.
“Did the dog act strange upon returning?” Izadora asked.
“Not really. But ya know what? She did have a piece of black rope looped through her collar. I just thought she got caught on something, but maybe someone put it there,” Aunt Clover said.
Izadora rubbed the bridge of her nose. “You didn’t think to tell me this earlier?”
“No. Sorry,” Aunt Clover frowned.
“I see,” Izadora scratched her chin and squinted her eyes. “Where is the dog now?”
“She’s in town. For her spa day,” Aunt Clover said.
Gran sighed and shook her head. “Back in the day, we used to brush our own dogs. Get a brush; it’s easy. Or just use your own hair brush – I used to. I don’t see why you make such a
fuss. The dog probably doesn’t even like it.”
“It’s not only the brushing, Ma! Her nails needed to be trimmed…and painted.” Aunt Clover jutted her chin out. Gran did the same.
While Gran and Aunt Clover were giving each other “the look,” Izadora said, “And you say the hart ran straight for you?”
“A what? Oh…the deer. Yes. He ran right at me,” Aunt Clover said.
“This is uncharacteristic of a hart. Unless they are taunted,” Izadora explained.
While Izadora sat on the tree branch thinking, Gran and Aunt Clover discussed the dog and her spa day. I had always pictured my aunt owning an Irish wolfhound, or a giant black mastiff. That would suit her personality much more, but she adored this little dog.
“Alright. I’ve heard enough, I suppose. I will get back to the house and see what I can do about this. I do know for certain – someone or something has cursed you. Drumm should have been able to help that foot of yours. Something is not adding up right,” Izadora pondered.
“I told you everything that I know,” Aunt Clover scowled.
“No. You told me everything that you remember. There is a difference. Make your way to my house tomorrow. Be there at noon. And don’t be late,” Izadora said as she set her teacup on the branch next to her. Without warning, she leaned forward, and jumped from the branch causing everyone to bolt upright in their seats. Gran’s hand flew over her heart and she gasped, but before Izadora even came close to hitting the ground, she shape-shifted into a black crow. She then swooped up and flew into the forest disappearing from sight.